我们今天如何建立月球基地 – 太空殖民 1：英语精读讲义

Humans dream about leaving Earth and traveling through the galaxy,

人类梦想着离开地球，在银河系中遨游，

but we were born too early to be part of it. 語法

但我们出生得太早，无法参与其中。

Or were we? 表達脈絡

或者是这样吗？

The reality is we could begin our dream by building a moon base today.

现实是，我们今天就可以通过建立月球基地来开启我们的梦想。

We actually do have the technology 語法

我们确实拥有这样的技术，

and current estimates from NASA and the private sector say it could be done for 20 to 40 billion dollars spread out over about a decade. 短語動詞

根据美国宇航局和私营部门的最新估计，在十年内大约花费200亿到400亿美元就可以完成。

The price is comparable to the International Space Station

这个价格与国际空间站的造价，

or the budget surplus of Germany in 2017.

或者是德国2017年的预算盈余相当。

Not that big an investment really. 語法

这真的不是一笔很大的投资。

The payoff would be immeasurable.

其回报将是不可估量的。

The Moon is a sandbox to develop new technologies and exploit unlimited resources.

月球是一个开发新技术和开采无限资源的试验场。

It would start a new space race and lay the foundation for us to spread out into the solar system and beyond. 短語搭配

它将开启一场新的太空竞赛，并为我们向太阳系及更远的地方扩张奠定基础。

It would create a vast array of new technologies to benefit us on Earth,

它将创造出大量造福地球人类的新技术，

and we would all be part of it.

我们都将参与其中。

So,

那么，

why aren't we doing it?

我们为什么不去做呢？

Well,

呃，

sadly,

令人遗憾的是，

it's hard to get governments interested in long-term investments in the future of humanity. 短語搭配

很难让政府对人类未来的长期投资产生兴趣。

Let's imagine just doing it. 表達脈絡

让我们想象一下直接动手去做。

If we start today,

如果我们今天开始，

how would we build a moon base?

我们将如何建立一个月球基地？

Throughout history,

纵观历史，

colonization happened in phases.

殖民化是分阶段进行的。

In the first phase of the Age of Exploration, 文化背景

在大航海时代的第一阶段，

of the New World, for example,

比如针对新大陆的探索，

European monarchs funded expeditions to chart and discover

欧洲君主资助探险队去绘制地图和进行发现，

and to stake their claims. 短語搭配

并宣告他们的所有权。

They planted a flag and set up a camp, 短語動詞

他们插上旗帜，建立营地，

but they didn't stay.

但他们没有留下来。

In the second phase,

在第二阶段，

small missions set up outposts and settlements were founded,

小型任务建立了前哨站并建立起定居点，

which were still very dependent on their home countries for supplies. 短語搭配

但在物资上仍然非常依赖其母国。

Some failed,

有些失败了，

but others survived and established a permanent presence.

但有些幸存下来并确立了永久的驻扎。

Only then, in the third phase, 語法

只有到了第三阶段，

did a true colony form

才会形成真正的殖民地，

to which tradesmen and laborers could emigrate,

商人和劳工可以移民到那里，

creating new wealth and opportunities for themselves and their families,

为他们自己和家人创造新的财富和机会，

sending extreme wealth back to their countries of origin. 短語搭配

并将巨额财富送回他们的原籍国。

When we colonize the Moon,

当我们殖民月球时，

we'll go through the same three phases.

我们也将经历同样的三个阶段。

This time,

这一次，

without murdering millions of innocent people in the process.

这个过程中不会有数以百万计的无辜生灵遭到屠杀。

The Moon is not a welcoming place for living things.

月球并不是一个欢迎生物居住的地方。

A moon day lasts 29 Earth days,

一个月球日相当于29个地球日，

with a difference of maybe 300 °C between sunlight and shade.

日照和阴影之间的温差可能达到300摄氏度。

There is no atmosphere to shield us from meteorites, 短語搭配

这里没有大气层来保护我们免受陨石

big and small,

（无论大小）

or cosmic radiation.

或是宇宙辐射的伤害。

Worse still, 表達脈絡

更糟糕的是，

the lunar surface is covered in a layer of nasty jagged dust. 短語搭配

月球表面覆盖着一层讨厌的锯齿状尘埃。

The Moon is hard,

登月很难，

but we're good at doing hard things. 短語搭配

但我们擅长做困难的事情。

In the first phase of lunar colonization,

在月球殖民的第一阶段，

our explorers proved it can be done,

我们的探险家证明了这是可行的，

that a new world can be reached.

一个新的世界是可以到达的。

This phase started 60 years ago with the Apollo missions. 文化背景

这个阶段始于60年前的阿波罗计划。

Since then, 表達脈絡

从那时起，

satellites like the American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have mapped the Moon, 文化背景

像美国“月球勘测轨道飞行器”这样的卫星绘制了月球地图，

while rovers like the Chinese Yutu have studied the composition of the lunar surface,

而像中国“玉兔号”这样的月球车则研究了月球表面的成分，

looking for water ice and metals.

寻找水冰和金属。

Phase one is more or less complete. 用詞

第一阶段或多或少已经完成。

We know what we need to know to enter phase two.

我们已经掌握了进入第二阶段所需知道的信息。

In the second phase,

在第二阶段，

astronauts will build the first moon base,

宇航员将建立第一个月球基地，

and this could begin today.

而这在今天就可以开始。

The first small moon base could be completed in a decade.

第一个小型月球基地可能会在十年内建成。

The first nation that establishes this base will be akin to the first nations building outposts in the New World 500 years ago. 用詞

建立这个基地的第一个国家，将类似于500年前在新大陆建立前哨站的第一批国家。

It's expensive to send rockets to the Moon,

发射火箭到月球非常昂贵，

so we will send as little as possible.

所以我们会尽可能少地运送物资。

The base will be light,

这个基地会很轻便，

little more than inflatable habitats for crews of no more than 12, 用詞

基本上就是能容纳不超过12名船员的充气栖息地，

and will be deployed somewhere with natural shelter.

并且将被部署在有天然遮蔽物的地方。

Options include caves,

可选地点包括洞穴，

like underground lava tube tunnels,

比如地下的熔岩管隧道，

or craters near the poles,

或者是靠近极地的陨石坑，

where the days are six months long.

那里的白天长达六个月。

These astronauts will not stay long.

这些宇航员不会停留太久。

The habitat is likely to be abandoned between missions,

栖息地很可能会在任务之间的空窗期被废弃，

as solar panels cannot generate electricity during the lunar night.

因为太阳能电池板在月球夜晚无法发电。

But they'll do the groundwork to enable humans to stay permanently. 短語搭配

但他们将为人类的永久停留打下基础。

Our first crew will consist of scientists and engineers 短語搭配

我们的第一批船员将由科学家和工程师组成，

who will study the composition of the Moon

他们将研究月球的成分，

and whose experiments will explore ways of using the available lunar material,

并且他们的实验将探索利用现有月球物质的方法，

say, purifying the lunar ice and turning it into water for human use.

比如，净化月球冰并将其转化为供人类使用的水。

And water is important for far more than drinking. 語法

而水的作用远远不止于饮用。

They can use it to experiment with growing plants for food.

他们可以用水来实验种植食用植物。

Hydrogen fuel cells will store power through the long night,

氢燃料电池将在漫长的夜晚储存电能，

extending astronauts' stays.

延长宇航员的停留时间。

And most importantly,

最重要的是，

it can be split into hydrogen and oxygen,

它可以被分解成氢气和氧气，

rocket fuel.

也就是火箭燃料。

By harvesting water from the Moon and putting it into orbit, 語法

通过从月球上获取水并将其送入轨道，

the moon base will supply an orbital depot 用詞

月球基地将为一个轨道燃料库提供补给，

where scientific missions to Mars and the outer solar system can refuel.

前往火星和外太阳系的科学任务可以在那里补充燃料。

Compared to the Earth, 語法

与地球相比，

it's much easier and cheaper to get things off the Moon into orbit.

从月球上将物体送入轨道要容易且便宜得多。

Colonizing Mars may mean starting from the Moon.

殖民火星可能意味着从月球开始。

But this isn't a true colony,

但这还不是一个真正的殖民地，

not yet.

还没到那一步。

The base will be abandoned if funding stops.

如果资金停止，基地将被废弃。

If we want our base to grow into the third phase,

如果我们希望我们的基地发展到第三阶段，

into a true colony,

成为一个真正的殖民地，

it must become self-sufficient,

它必须实现自给自足，

supporting itself via exports to Earth. 語法

通过向地球出口来维持自身。

Now,

此时，

private contractors arrive,

私营承包商抵达，

looking to get rich off lunar resources and support services. 短語搭配

希望从月球资源和支持服务中致富。

If it's cheaper to produce rocket fuel in space,

如果在太空中生产火箭燃料更便宜，

what else can they get rich on?

他们还能通过什么致富呢？

They could extract precious metals,

他们可以提取贵金属，

abundant in impact craters,

它们在撞击坑中十分丰富，

and other raw materials from the lunar regolith. 用詞

还可以从月球风化层中提取其他原材料。

One promising possibility is the mining of helium 3,

一个有希望的可能是开采氦-3，

an isotope that could one day be used in nuclear fusion reactors,

这是一种有朝一日可能用于核聚变反应堆的同位素，

something the Chinese lunar exploration program is currently looking into. 短語動詞

也是中国探月工程目前正在研究的项目。

Future colonists may export helium 3 back to Earth,

未来的殖民者可能会将氦-3出口回地球，

providing us with cheap and clean fusion energy.

为我们提供廉价且清洁的聚变能源。

Asteroids could be pulled into the Moon's orbit and mined.

小行星可能会被拉入月球轨道并进行开采。

With commercial exports to Earth,

随着对地球进行商业出口，

the colony is fully in its third phase,

殖民地将完全进入第三阶段，

self-sufficient, and economically productive.

也就是自给自足并在经济上具备生产力。

Our base will begin using lunar material in its construction projects if it's to continue growing. 語法

如果我们的基地要继续发展，它将开始在建筑项目中使用月球材料。

Fortunately,

幸运的是，

lunar soil has all the necessary ingredients to make concrete.

月壤拥有制造混凝土的所有必要成分。

Robotic mining rigs can sift the lunar dust for organic molecules

机器人采矿平台可以在月球尘埃中筛选有机分子，

and could be used to build huge structures way too massive to be brought from Earth, 語法

并可用于建造无法从地球运送的巨大结构，

while advances in 3D printing will make it possible to produce almost everything else the crews need. 語法

而3D打印的进步将使生产船员所需的几乎所有其他东西成为可能。

It's hard to say when exactly the colony becomes self-sustaining. 語法

很难说殖民地确切地在何时实现自给自足。

Growth is gradual,

增长是渐进的，

experiments are replaced by industry,

实验被工业取代，

and the population steadily reaches the hundreds,

人口稳步达到数百人，

encompassing more than just scientists.

不仅仅只有科学家。

Engineers, pilots, and contractors representing countries and corporations will be present.

代表国家和企业的工程师、飞行员以及承包商都将在场。

Two of these people will make a breakthrough,

其中的两个人将取得一项突破，

not scientific, 表達脈絡

不是科学上的，

but social.

而是社会学上的。

They will have the first extraterrestrial child.

他们将拥有第一个外星婴儿。

Throughout history,

纵观历史，

the birth of the first child was celebrated as a moment where the seed of a colony finally and irreversibly took root. 習語

第一个孩子的诞生被庆祝为殖民地种子终于不可逆转地扎根的时刻。

Here,

在这里，

it means that the Moon is not just a place for scientists and engineers to work, 表達脈絡

这意味着月球不仅是科学家和工程师工作的地方，

it's a place for people to live,

更是人们生活、

to raise a family.

养家糊口的地方。

Once this transition happens,

一旦这一转变发生，

the colony grows rapidly,

殖民地将迅速扩张，

building more habitats and schools and farms

建造更多的栖息地、学校和农场，

and all the things needed to support the growing population.

以及支持不断增长的人口所需的一切事物。

As our colony grows,

随着我们殖民地的发展，

all kinds of new technologies will be invented to sustain it.

各种旨在维持其运转的新技术将被发明出来。

They might develop crops that efficiently recycle carbon dioxide

他们可能会开发出能有效回收二氧化碳的农作物，

or the grow with very little water.

或者极需少量水就能生长的农作物。

They might find ways to recycle and reuse 100% of their waste,

他们可能会找到100%回收和再利用废弃物的方法，

technologies that are extremely valuable for Earth.

这些技术对地球来说极其宝贵。

They could even build the first space elevator in the solar system.

他们甚至可能建造太阳系中的第一部太空电梯。

With a space elevator,

有了太空电梯，

spacecraft, astronauts, and raw materials

航天器、宇航员和原材料，

could be brought back and forth from lunar orbit without needing to use rockets at all. 短語搭配

可以往返于月球轨道而完全不需要使用火箭。

The Moon may become a hub for economic activity 短語搭配

月球可能成为经济活动的枢纽，

on a scale that's hard to imagine right now.

其规模是现在难以想象的。

It's hard to say who will own the colony at this point.

很难说在这个阶段谁将拥有这个殖民地。

Will the first person born on the Moon take the national identity of their parents,

第一个在月球上出生的人会采用他们父母的国籍吗？

or will a new generation meld together into a new lunar society?

还是新一代会融合为一个新的月球社会？

And when existing treaties that bar any nation from owning the Moon 用詞

而且当禁止任何国家拥有月球的现行条约

are inevitably rewritten,

不可避免地被重写时，

will the colonists be given a say? 短語搭配

殖民者会有发言权吗？

Will they declare their independence from the Earth?

他们会宣布独立于地球吗？

However it happens, 表達脈絡

无论事情如何发展，

the Moon is a perfect sandbox to learn how to colonize the solar system,

月球都是一个学习如何殖民太阳系的完美沙盒，

the perfect project to unify nations,

是一个团结各个国家的完美项目，

and the only way to guarantee our survival as a species should something tragic happen on Earth. 語法

也是在地球发生悲剧时，保证我们作为物种生存下来的唯一途径。

If we ever want to colonize the Milky Way, 語法

如果我们想要殖民银河系，

we'll have to start somewhere.

我们必须从某个地方开始。

So,

那么，

why not start there?

为什么不从那里开始呢？

Why not start now? 語氣意圖

为什么不现在开始呢？